Benskips HurtComfort
by bensons-cat-sitter
Summary: Skips/Benson (Regular Show). Written for an art/writing collab with Nisii (dumbkidgrownup on tumblr) ages ago now...her fukken amazing art for my story is linked on the tumblr version of this fic, and also is on the cover ofc. :3 To find the tumblr version, go to my blog (bensons-cat-sitter on tumblr; linked on my profile), and enter this after my url - /post/106820756220/


In the park it was a freezing cold winter evening, the sun just setting, the cool winter colours of the sky in the process of changing; a few stars were just about becoming visible in the day's clear sky. Benson was exiting the doorway of the park house; he felt he wanted to be outside. He felt sick with himself, sick with the thoughts and worries that just wouldn't leave his mind. Benson began to walk through the park, frosty and pale grass crunching beneath his feet as he walked very slowly; he barely noticed anything outside of his own mind, not heading on to do anything productive. The gumball machine was too stuck and immersed in his own disturbing thoughts to concentrate on anything at all. Benson didn't want to stay in the house, not in this state; in fear of bursting into pathetic tears at any minute.

 _I can't believe I'm this much of a failure…that I'm this bad,_ Benson thought to himself, then feeling hot tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to spill. The gumball machine simply squeezed his eyes tight shut, shaking his head at himself as he walked on through the park; the winter air was cold and crisp…usually this would be pleasantly refreshing after being stuck in his office all day…now it just felt bitter; it made Benson feel weak, it's icy winds brushed past him coldly, making him feel empty. The lump in his throat made him feel sick; he was almost choking on the tears sure to come.

'Benson,' a gentle and familiar voice then broke through Benson's thoughts; his mind was clouded with worries of the past, anxieties of the future. Benson looked up, his eyes brimming with tears that he desperately wanted to hold back, but his pathetic body and mind wouldn't allow him to…he looked into the comforting face of Skips.

'Come on,' Skips said, holding out his hand for Benson to take. As Benson looked up at Skips, the yeti saw that his eyes were filled with tears that began to roll down his cheeks, his expression tense with anxiety yet wavering with the tears, and his body was shaking, looking like it would give way at any moment. Skips felt an immediate, desperate need to care for the other as a pang of sympathy hit him, seeing the state Benson was in.

Benson took Skips' hand lightly with shivering fingers; feeling severely unstable, physically and mentally. But then, as he took the yeti's hand, the gumball machine suddenly felt himself uncontrollably gasping in the cold air as he couldn't hold in his tears any longer.

Skips painfully observed the other look away in shame as he lost the capability to hide his building up pain and emotions much longer. The yeti squeezed the other's hand in a comforting way, and soothed; 'Sshh, it'll be alright, Benson,' then beginning to slowly lead the gumball machine to his garage, conveniently nearby, as he struggled with trying to keep in his sobs and tears.  
There was only a brief walk across some of the park to get there, but, as they walked slowly, for Benson's sake, Benson held onto Skips tight, feeling like he would never move again if he stopped and let go. He felt like he was drowning, suffocating on his own tears as he tried his best to hold them in, but instead he kept pathetically sobbing, sharply, painfully.

Soon enough they were at the garage's door, which Skips opened, carefully leading Benson inside; the yeti's expression etched with concern and pain; pain because he couldn't take Benson's own pain away.

Benson stepped into Skips' silent and warm room; it was comfortingly familiar, and it held the other's scent that Benson loved. But, as he stepped inside he was at his limit; he couldn't hold in what he felt, hold onto himself any longer… the gumball machine just fell to his knees on the floor, losing the want to even stand on his own two feet anymore, sobbing into his hands, trying to hide his face with the shame that his sudden loss of ability gave him.

Skips felt a pain in his chest as Benson's grip on him ceased; his trembling hand slipping from the yeti's grip and moving to hide the gumball machine's face as he collapsed to the ground. Skips almost felt ill as he witnessed the other in this state, wanting more than anything for Benson to calm, wanting more than anything to make it better for him.

Skips carefully knelt down on the floor beside Benson, and slowly reached out a hand to touch his back; the wise yeti then moved closer to Benson, as he noted that the other did not mind the contact. Skips then rubbed soothing circles along Benson's back as he spoke to him gently, over and over: 'Sshh…it'll be alright…sshh…'

'I just-,' Benson started in-between sobs, gasping for air through his tears. '-sh-she left me, it's, j-just like l-last time, ohgodohgod, it must be me – it's me, it's me, it's all –my fault – WHY AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH?!' Benson then suddenly cried, pulling his hands from his face as he yelled, only going on to hide behind them again and full-on cry harder after he said the words, now not having the ability to breathe, to live, without gasping desperately and manically through the increasing stream of tears.

'Benson…' Skips spoke quietly, almost to himself as he felt like breaking down himself, seeing the other like this…it hurt him. He moved his hands to tenderly lift Benson's chin, the action quietening the sobbing gumball machine somewhat, looking into his tear-filled eyes. 'You…you didn't do anythin'. If you really look back you'll see that it wasn't you. It wasn't you,' Skips spoke calmly to Benson; steady exterior contradicting how he felt inside.

Benson's sobs slowed to a gradual stop as the two knelt there; Skips looking into Benson's tear-filled eyes, as Benson looked into Skips' wise and sometimes un-telling ones; they glinted a little now with perhaps…worry? Skips took Benson's left hand in his two hands, and gently smoothed his wise fingers over the others palm, focusing on the gumball machine's hand.  
'That's your heart line,' Skips said, running a finger delicately over one of the line's on Benson's left hand. He planned to distract and comfort Benson by finding some good traits or events, of his, through reading his palm. As he did this, Skips focused his eyes on the lines on Benson's hands, immersed in Benson's palm.

Benson felt his cheeks heat up a little as Skips gently smoothed his digits over the inside of his hand…he didn't know if the blush was from the tears still falling down his face, or because of the way that he felt his mood settle a little when Skips touched his hand with his two; carefully pulling out his fingers when they closed in, tracing the lines on there with his own fingers, totally focused on Benson. Benson had never experienced this sort of…intimate treatment from Skips before.

'You see how your heart line is long and curved?,' Skips said, looking up into Benson's eyes and -observing the other's features calm a little as he carried on running his own thumb over Benson's palm in circles, even though he was no longer looking. There were still tears, but the gumball machine's breathing was now at a steady rate, and the start of a smile was almost there as Skips looked up to gaze into Benson's eyes. 'This means you freely express your emotions, and feelings,' Skips said, afterwards moving to look back down at Benson's hand, instantly focused in what he was doing.

'It also touches this line here…that's your life line it's touching,' Benson looked down at his palm with Skips, watching the line that the yeti was running a thumb over, as he still held Benson's hand in his own two.

'What does that mean?' Benson said quietly, his tears ceasing as his worries died down due to Skips; the two made eye-contact once again as Benson spoke. The gumball machine noticed how he found it calming to look into the yeti's wise and caring eyes; how he felt secure, how the loneliness died down.

'It means your heart is broken easily,' Skips replied, his voice and expression suddenly their characteristic monotone as he did; not wanting to give away how he was hurting inside due to Benson's heartbreak, and not wanting to give away how this strong empathy only increased when he told Benson these words.

'Huh, that sounds like me,' Benson said; thankfully laughing a little after, blushing as he wiped his eyes that were still teary; now he had a small smile.

Skips matched the expression, more than glad that Benson had took what he had said well, and also that the hand reading was working just as he had hoped. He couldn't help but feel elated, feel his heart warm as he saw Benson finally laugh and smile.

Skips had noticed something else though; Benson's heart line was very broken, it was full of gaps. Skips knew that this meant emotional trauma, but decided that, for now, this was something that Benson, still recovering, did not need to know.

'Can you tell me about my life line?' Benson asked Skips; his voice was more confident, more like his usual self, and he was now really relaxing into Skips' touch and the attention that the yeti was giving him, letting Skips ease his anxiety and sadness.

'You're life line runs close to your thumb,' Skips said. He had to carefully coax Benson's thumb from curling into his palm, to get a good look at the said line. 'That means you're often tired,'

'Mm, tell me about it,' Benson replied; he always felt tired after constantly overworking himself…in particular today. He knew that his eyes were probably still red and teary, because they were definitely sore, just like the rest of his body…and in his mind he felt it too; he was more than grateful for this opportunity to relax with Skips, because before he'd felt so drained of positivity.

Skips felt sympathy for Benson as he could see how tired the gumball machine looked; though, even if his eyes were still tear-stained and his body stiff from the day's work, he was wearily smiling as he sat before Skips, a light blush on his cheeks as his hand remained in Skips' two.

'You see here-' Skips ran a finger over Benson's life line lightly, smiling a little as Benson's hand twitched slightly out of ticklishness. 'There's a break on your life line. That means a sudden change in lifestyle.'

'Well, I know what that means for sure,' Benson said, under his breath; now lost in a trance created by his fascination of Skips' actions and words, his love of Skips' gentle touch, as he watched the yeti handle his palm.

'This line here is your head line,' Skips said quietly, moving on to another line. He traced a finger over it to show Benson as he said this.

'Below the heart line?' Benson asked. The gumball machine was smiling and watching Skips, who was still looking down; the yeti apparently oblivious, in his concentration, that he was watching him.

'Yeah,' Skips smiled, happy that Benson was now fully engrossed and, as a result, not so upset. Skips' mood relaxed a little more in this moment too; his concern dying down as Benson was no longer so heart-broken. 'Yours is short...that means that you prefer physical achievements, over mental ones. It's also separate to your life line – meaning you have adventure and enthusiasm for life. There's a lot of little crosses on there…you see?' Skips padded a digit gently and slowly on each cross he could see over the line on Benson's palm. 'They mean you make meaningful decisions.'  
Skips then, satisfied with what he had done so far, gently let go of Benson's hand from his two…he felt empty and slightly lost without the others hand in his two. But Skips thought that Benson wouldn't want him sticking around him for too long, obsessing over him too much. Skips, unfortunately, had to stop at some point, he was sure.

As Skips let go of Benson's hand it felt so cold to the gumball machine. Suddenly, without moving at all, the yeti was too distant, uncomfortably far from Benson. 'Hey, can you tell me more?' Benson suddenly said, practically without his own consent. He couldn't help it, the words just happened, out of desperation. Benson wanted to be close to Skips…disappointment, even some of the sadness, came flooding back in the moment that the yeti let go.

Skips' heart-beat rose with Benson's words. He must've been wrong about how Benson would feel…Skips took Benson's hand again, now seeing the way that the gumball machine's cheeks flushed, his breath quickening as he did…but this time just in one of his own. He then reached to take Benson's right hand in his other, and smiled as Benson's pupils widened, gazing into his own.  
Benson leaned closer to Skips, getting lost in the yeti's eyes, wanting to be closer to the other, feel more of his touch…

Before they both knew it their lips were naturally interlocking, tongues pushing against each other passionately….Benson pressed his body as close as he could against Skips, moving his arms around his neck, and Skips held Benson closer still, his strong and secure arms wrapping Benson in an embrace as he led the kiss, moving his tongue deeper, Benson moaning as he kissed back.  
Eventually they pulled away slowly from the kiss, Benson still in Skips' arms. Skips gently smiled at Benson whose eyes were wide with adoration. Benson then smiled back, and whispered;

'I love you.'

Skips replied by going in to passionately kiss Benson again, lowering him to the floor, planning to spend the night proving to Benson that he felt the same way.


End file.
